This morning’s class covered race: how racial categories are formed, changed and inhabited. Students were engaged with how we read race off the body—especially those who are racially ambiguous which made for a great discussion. What WEB DuBois's called the "chilling trilogy: hair, bones and colour."
It is always great to make an assertion and have several students say, “She’s right!” Second half of class occurred in the laboratory of Greater London looking at the intersections of social class and race.
We took tube to Hammersmith to walk through a working class neighborhood. Walked, also, along the Thames boardwalk which is walled off from the river preventing a good view.
We agreed after checking rents, markets, and services in the neighborhood that it would be difficult to make it here on a worker’s salary. One bedroom flats go for £2500 to 2800 a month ($4187 average per month). We did get some nice shots of a playground. H
This is the bridge crossing the Thames from Hammersmith Piccadilly tube station to the neighborhood.
Graffiti on the phone booth (obscured by my students).
Then we hopped on the Hammersmith District tube to South Kensington station and walked through Chelsea. Tonier, more interior design shops, lots of custom bridal (high end) shops and antique book stores. We talked to workers whenever possible.
We also asked some of the Mummys with buggies about average rents. A one-two bedroom flat here goes for £4200 ($6300) per month—if one has been in it a long while. Otherwise, it could run £ 2200 a week ($3300 per week). So, it is decidedly more exclusive. Students noticed the restaurants were very full in Chelsea and very pricey.
This trash pick up man says he gets four weeks a year of paid vacation; if he sick, the first two days are without salary which kicks in day 3. Eight weeks a year paid sick leave, but one would fired if s/he took it too often. He was a happy chap and knew all the “OC” from television show. Or so he thinks.
We wandered through the neighborhood and parted ways early afternoon. I grabbed a bus to Regent Street for some window shopping before returning to Hampstead. I love the tile in all the tube stations and must remember to snap more examples. This is Hampstead station, which is plain compared to most. Notice the beautiful handmade green tiles circa 1930. Love those!
Just wait til I remember to capture the tile at Euston. The workers at the Hampstead station warned that my photos could not be used for commercial purposes. I showed them my Ipad2 photos and they got a big kick out of the types of things I am interested in. They, too, know of the OC and asked, “Isn’t Laguna Beach also a TV show?”
Yesterday, I tried to put a dent in a revision and to catch up on administria regarding the internships I supervise here. That ate the better part of yesterday.
I rescheduled a dinner date with a friend of Cheryl's--a UCI professor who is here for the year. Cheryl introduced us via email knowing we would both be living in London this Spring. We agreed that being a friend of Dr. Maxson's is a high recommendation that makes it a sure bet that dinner conversation will be interesting.
So I stopped in our little village to get a salmon fillet and vegies to cook this evening.
Tomorrow we are off to Oxford in what is predicted as a “light snow.”
I am really enjoying the students although they are reluctant to participate in a democratic classroom without the usual power games that occur. Real progress today, a few are finally calling me "Eileen" instead of Professor.
Have a wonderful day leading up to your holiday weekend. As one of my Chinese students commented, "Westerners move holidays around to suit their purpose--Lincoln's Birthday (2/12) and Washington's birthday (2/20) get melded into President's day weekend known mostly for mattress sales."
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